The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1887-09-15
Our Bridges.
The Walhalla Courier, of the 1st inst.

UUr OFluSeSs
The Wall1alla Courier, of the 1st inst,
says:
For years a large proportion of our
county taxes have been expended in the
building and repairing of bridges. Stu
ated at the base of the mountains our
county is intersected by numerous
streams of varying size. On either side
of these streams the land is undulating,
creating extensive water sheds, which
rapidly empty heavy rainfalls into them,
converting branches and creeks into
foaming torrents, bearing along timber
and brush and sweeping away bridges
and all opposing obstacles. Under such
circumstances the safest bridge is low
bridge, we'll constructed and securely
weighted down. The water may flood
them, FIVE, ten or fifteen feet, but when
it runs down, which requires but 8
few hours, the bridges will be there unin.
jured. AS the velocity and force of
water increases as the stream rises, the
under strata remaining unchanged, low
bridges enjoy the double advantage Of
not having to oppose so great down
ward pressure and also of passing over
them logs and driftwood, as these rarely
come until the water is above the bridge.
There are low bridges on Twelve Mile
which we know have stood the freshets
of years, and in this county there are also
some. With one exception only, SO far
as we know, all high bridges in our
county were swept away by the recent
freshets, while low bridges either stood
or were merely wrecked, costing little to
repair them.
Another Improvement, which cannot
be made under existing legislation, is in
the manner of letting bridges. The law
requires that the rebuilding and repair.
ing Of bridges where the cost Of the work
is under s1O0, and over $40, shall be
advertised by posted notices and let to
the lowest responsible bidder, and where
the cost is over s1OO, they shall be adver.
tised in newspaper and let in the same
way. This looks fair, as itleads to com.
petition among the people; still we are
satisfied that nine.tenths Of the bridges
so let could be built for one.half, or, at
most, for two thirds of the price at which
they are bid off. The assertion is virtu-
ally sustained by facts growing out of the
recent freshet. Two bridges over Cane
Greek, leach 40 feet long, near Walhalla,
have been rebuilt for $40 each, which
usually cost $35 to $40 each. The long
bridge over Little River at High Falls
was of such Importance to the neighbor.
hood that the citizens, without waiting
for the slow process of advertising, met,
collected what material they could,
replaced lost pieces and rebuilt the
bridge, trusting to be paid reasonable
price for the work. We venture the
bridge under this plan will not cost one.
half what it would have been bid off at
under the law. Last year the building
of rock arch nnder the covered bridge
over Keowee River was let to the lowest
bidder and was bid off at about or near
s4OO. We have been told the entire
work cost the contractors fraction over
s1OO. We might mention other in.
stances, but from what we can learn the
bridges in this county have of late years
cost on an average double what they
could have been built at.
What is the remedy? As the law
stands there is none; but we believe the
Legislature could frame law, giving the
County Commissioners such discretion
as would enable them to secure better
bridges at greatly reduced cost. If the
law would authorize and direct County
Commissioners when bridges need
rebuilding or repairing, to employ some
competent foreman, who could hire
hands and teams and rebuild the bridge,
the average cost to the county would not
exceed one.half the cost of the work as
now done. The best hands could be
employed at 60 to rs cents day, and six
or eight hands would rebuild large
bridge in ten days or two weeks The
work would be done at actual cost, the
bridges would be better and the county
benefited. Under the letting out plan
none but responsible men can bid, for
they only can give the bond required and
hire hands. We are told by the build.
ers of bridge across Cane Greek, that
the getting and hauling of sills 40 feet
long cost s1.25 each. The plank for such
q bridge, IL feet VIDE and one ana nall
inches thick, would cost S7.2O, and where
no arches are required such bridge
would cost less than SIS. Take bridge
12O feet long, and to build it We would
need Is sills of 40 feet lover for lapping)
and for arches, mud sills, &C., like
number of pieces, lin fact less) and ne
have 80 pieces of hewed lumber, cost.
ing, delivered, $3.50, with plank to
cover, $1,000. The framing and raising
would bring the cost to about 500, and
yet such bridges IS or 20 feet high cost
generally $3.50. The iron and bolts
could not cost above $40. We do think
the law should give wider discretion to
Commissioners, at most leaving it
optional with them, to have rebuilt or let
!